Cotton- field to fiber

Our 4-H Textile group had a wonderful field trip last month. We learned all about cotton and how it goes from the field to the fiber.

We learned that the cotton buds are edible and it takes 1 plant to knit a sweater.

The girls took the cotton from the plant and brushed it until it was fluff.  The fluff was then spun onto a make shift spinning wheel made from a mason jar lid and cabob stick.  Spinning is such an art!

Forcing Bulbs

We are a little behind in forcing tulip bulbs this year, but it only took four days for the girls to start seeing roots emerge. Olive says it's because she picked the most perfect place in the house to help them grow. The girls are in charge of making sure they have just the right amount of water touching the bulb.

 We purchased rocks and glass marbles from the $1 store and used some narrow glass vases to force the bulbs. Hopefully we'll have lovely tulips in time for Easter.

It's Pumpkin Time!

It's my favorite time of year around here! We made pumpkin playdough and used little twigs and evergreen to decorate our little balls of fun. You can find the recipe here from an earlier post. We added orange food coloring, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

I found a good lesson plan on pumpkin life cycles over at Montessori Mom that went along nicely with our book.

 We read The Pumpkin Book, an educational story about the life cycle and origins of pumpkins, by Gail Gibbons.  You can also find a fun paper plate life cycle activity at My Montessori Journey.

It's also nice when you can find a garden or pumpkin patch where the pumpkins are still attached to the vine to get the full effect of the cycle.
-----------------------------------
Reposted from 2010

Everything Apples

An apple mosaic with a paper plate.

Apple peeling and coring, making applesauce to eat.

Apple pie playdough with my favorite recipe here.
Perfect Playdough
1 c. flour
1/2 cup salt
1 T. cooking oil
1 T. cream of tartar
1 c. water
Food coloring of your choice
Add-ins of your choice (i.e. spices, extracts, glitter, etc.)

Stir ingredients together into a saucepan. Over medium heat cook the dough until it pulls away from the pan. Lay onto a cutting board and knead well, it will be hot to touch. Allow to cool and enjoy.

We also plan to finish our life cycle of an apple tree from My Montessori Journey.

How does your garden grow?

My girls love, love, love, to be in the garden. Usually we have a big raised bed, but this year we just did a few planters with tomatoes, peppers, and basil. We love to watch anything grow!